PLATO’S CONCEPT OF

JUSTICE AS VIRTUE
ABSTRACT: In his philosophy
Plato gives a prominent place to the
idea of justice. Plato was highly
dissatisfied with the prevailing
degenerating conditions in Athens.
The Athenian democracy was on
the verge of ruin and was
ultimately responsible for
Socrates's death. The amateur
meddlesomeness and excessive
individualism became main targets
of Plato's attack. This attack came
in the form of the construction of
an ideal society in which justice
reigned supreme, since Plato
believed justice to be the remedy
for curing these evils. After
criticizing the conventional theories
of justice presented differently by
Cephalus, Polymarchus,
Thrasymachus and Glaucon, Plato
gives us his own theory of justice
according to which, individually,
justice is a 'human virtue' that
makes a person self-consistent and
good; socially, justice is a social
consciousness that makes a society
internally harmonious and good.
According to Plato, justice is a sort
of specialization.

Plato in his philosophy gives very

important place to the idea of
justice. He used the Greek word
"Dikaisyne" for justice which
comes very near to the work
'morality' or 'righteousness', it
properly includes within it the
whole duty of man. It also covers
the whole field of the individual's
conduct in so far as it affects
others. Plato contended that justice
is the quality of soul, in virtue of
which men set aside the irrational
desire to taste every pleasure and to
get a selfish satisfaction out of
every object and accommodated
themselves to the discharge of a
single function for the general
benefit.
Plato was highly dissatisfied with
the prevailing degenerating
conditions in Athens. The Athenian
democracy was on the verge of ruin
and was ultimately responsible for
secrate's death. Plato saw in justice
the only remedy of saving Athens
from decay and ruin, for nothing
agitated him in contemporary
affairs more than amateurishness,
needlesomeness and political
selfishness which was rampant in
Athens of his day in particular and
in the entire Greek world in
general. In additional, Sophistic
teaching of the ethics of self-
satisfaction resulted in the
excessive individualism also
induced the citizens to capture the
office of the State for their own
selfish purpose and eventually
divided "Athens in to two histile
camps of rich and poor, opressor
and opressed. "Evidently, these two
factors amateur needlesomeness
and excessive individualism
became main targets of Plato's
attack. The attack came in the form
of the construction of an ideal
society in which "Justice" reigned
supreme, since Plato found in
justice the remedy for curing these
evils. Thus, we are to inquire in this
study the nature of justice as
prepounded by Plato as a
fundamental principle of well-order
society.
It is to be noted that before Plato
many theories of justice were
prevalent. The inquiry about justice
goes from the crudest to the most
refined interpretation of it. It
remains therefore to inquire what
were the reasons for which he
rejected those views. Thus before
discussing Plato's own concept of
justice, it is necessary to analyze
those traditional theories of justice
were rejected by him.
Cephalus who was a representative
of traditional morality of the
ancient trading class established the
traditional theory of justice .
According to him 'justice consists
in speaking the truth and paying
one's debt. Thus Cephalus
identifies justice with right
conduct. Polemarchus also holds
the same view of justice but with a
little alteration. According to him
"justice seems to consist in giving
what is proper to him". The simple
implication of this conception of
justice may be that "justice is doing
good to friends and harm to
enemies." This is also a traditional
maxim of Greek morality.
The views propounded by
Cephalus and Polemarchus were
criticized by Plato. The view point
of Cephalus was criticised on the
ground that there may be cases in
which this formula may involve the
violation of the spirit of right and
his formula does not admit of being
taken as a sound universal principle
of life. It is not right to restore
deadly weapons to a man after he
has gone mad. And the contention
of Polemarchus was condemned by
Plato on the ground that it was only
easy to speak of giving good to
friend and evil to enemies. But if
the friends only a friend in
seeming, and an enemy in reality,
then what will happen? Then under
such circumstances whether we
should rigidly follow the defination
and do him good or we may use
discretion and do him evil? But to
do evil to anybody, including one's
enemy was inconsistent with the
most elementary conception of
morality. Thus, this conception of
justice regulated the relations
between individuals on
individualistic principles and
ignores the society as a whole.
Thrasymachus who represented the
new and critical view, propounded
the radical theory of justice. He
defines justice as "the interest of
the stronger". In the other words,
might is right. For while, every
man acts for himself and tries to get
what he can, the strongest is sure to
get what he wants and as in a state
the Government is the strongest, it
will try to get and it will get,
whatever it wants for itself. Thus,
for Thrasymachus justice means
personal interest of the ruling group
in any state or we can further
define it as "another's good". Laws
are made by the ruling party in its
own interest. Those who violate
such laws are punished because
violation of such laws is treated as
violation of justice. Socrates
criticises the defination of justice
given by Thrasymachus and he
says just as a physician studies and
exercises his power not in his
interest but in the interest of a
patient, the Government of any
kind shall do what is good for the
people for whom it exercises its art.
But Thrasymachus advances some
more arguments in support of his
concept of justice and injustice.
An unjust is superior to a just in
character and intelligence.
Injustice is a source of strength.
Injustice brings happiness.
Socrates attacks these points of
Thrasymachus and throws light on
the nature of justice.
Justice implies superior character
and intelligence while injustice
means deficiency in both respects.
Therefore, just men are superior in
character and intelligence and are
more effective in action. As
injustice implies ignorance,
stupidity and badness, It cannot be
superior in character and
intelligence. A just man is wiser
because he acknowledges the
principle of limit.
Unlimited self-assertion is not a
source of strength for any group
organized for common purpose,
Unlimited desire and claims lead to
conflicts.
Life of just man is better and
happier. There is always some
specific virtue in everything, which
enables it to work well. If it is
deprived of that virtue, it works
badly. The soul has specific
functions to perform. When it
performs its specific functions, it
has specific excellence or virtue. If,
it is deprived of its peculiar virtue,
it cannot possibly do its work well.
It is agreed that the virtue of the
soul is justice. The soul which is
more virtuous or in other words
more just is also the happier soul.
Therefore, a just man lives happy.
A just soul, in other words a just
man, lives well; an unjust cannot.
At this juncture the new point of
view is stated by Glaucon and he
put Forward a form of what was
later to be known as a social
contract theory, arguing we are
only moral because, it pays us or
we have to be. Glaucon describes
the historical evolution of the
society where justice as a necessity
had become the shield of the
weaker. In the primitive stage of
society without law and
government, man was free to do
whatever he likes. So the stronger
few enjoyed the life at the
sufferance of the weaker many.
The weaker, however, realised that
they suffered more injustice. Faced
with this situation they came to an
agreement and instituted law and
government through a sort of social
contract and preached the
philosophy of just. Therefore,
justice in this way something
artificial and unnatural. It is the
"product of convention". It is
through this artificial rule of justice
and law that the natural selfishness
of man is chained. A dictate of the
weaker many, for the interest of the
weaker many, as against the natural
and superior power of the stronger
few.
Critical Assessment by Plato:
Plato realises that all theories
propounded by Cephalus,
Thrasymachus and Glaucon,
contained one common element.
That one common element was that
all the them treated justice as
something external "an
accomplishment, an importation, or
a convention, they have, none of
them carried it into the soul or
considered it in the place of its
habitation." Plato prove that justice
does not depend upon a chance,
convention or upon external force.
It is the right condition of the
human soul by the very nature of
man when seen in the fullness of
his environment. It is in this way
that Plato condemned the position
taken by Glaucon that justice is
something which is external.
According to Plato, it is internal as
it resides in the human soul. "It is
now regarded as an inward grace
and its understanding is shown to
involve a study of the inner man."
It is, therefore, natural and no
artificial. It is therefore, not born of
fear of the weak but of the longing
of the human soul to do a duty
according to its nature.
Thus, after criticising the
conventional ideas of justice
presented differently by Cephalus,
Polymarchus, Thrasymachus and
Glaucon, Plato now gives us his
own theory of justice. Plato strikes
an analogy between the human
organism on the one hand and
social organism on the other.
Human organism according to
Plato contains three elements-
Reason (knowledge), Spirit
(courage) and Appetite (hunger).
An individual is just when each
part of his or her soul performs its
functions without interfering with
those of other elements. For
example, the reason should rule on
behalf of the entire soul with
wisdom and forethought. The
element of spirit will sub-ordinate
itself to the rule of reason. Those
two elements are brought into
harmony by combination of mental
and bodily training. They are set in
command over the appetites which
form the greater part of man's soul.
Therefore, the reason and spirit
have to control these appetites
which are likely to grow on the
bodily pleasures. These appetites
should not be allowed, to enslave
the other elements and usurp the
dominion to which they have no
right. When all the three agree that
among them the reason alone
should rule, there is justice within
the individual.
Corresponding to these three
elements in human nature there are
three classes in the social
organism-Philosopher class or the i.
ruling class which is the
representative of reason; ii.
auxiliaries, a class of warriors and
defenders of the country is the
representative of spirit; and the
appetite instinct of the community
which consists of iii. farmers,
artisans and are the lowest rung of
the ladder. Thus, Plato asserts that
functional specialization demands
from every social class to
specialize itself in the station of life
allotted to it. Justice, therefore to
Plato is like a manuscript which
exists in two copies, and one of
these is larger than the other. It
exists both in the individual and the
society. But it exists on a larger
scale and in more visible form in
the society. Individually "justice is
a 'human virtue' that makes a man
self consistent and good: Socially,
justice is a social consciousness
that makes a society internally
harmonious and good."
Justice is thus a sort of
specialization. It is simply the will
to fulfill the duties of one's station
and not to meddle with the duties
of another station, and its
habitation is, therefore, in the mind
of every citizen who does his duties
in his appointed place. It is the
original principle, laid down at the
foundation of the State, "that one
man should practice one thing only
and that the thing to which his
nature was best adopted". True
justice to Plato, therefore, consists
in the principle of non-interference.
The State has been considered by
Plato as a perfect whole in which
each individual which is its
element, functions not for itself but
for the health of the whole. Every
element fulfils its appropriate
function. Justice in the platonic
state would, therefore, be like that
harmony of relationship where the
Planets are held together in the
orderly movement. Plato was
convinced that a society which is
so organized is fit for survival.
Where man are out of their natural
places, there the co-ordination of
parts is destroyed, the society
disintegrates and dissolves. Justice,
therefore, is the citizen sense of
duties.
Justice is, for Plato, at once a part
of human virtue and the bond,
which joins man together in
society. It is the identical quality
that makes good and social . Justice
is an order and duty of the parts of
the soul, it is to the soul as health is
to the body. Plato says that justice
is not mere strength, but it is a
harmonious strength. Justice is not
the right of the stronger but the
effective harmony of the whole. All
moral conceptions revolve about
the good of the whole-individual as
well as social.